The new crown virus epidemic lasted for more than two years. The fifth wave broke out at the beginning of the year. More than 1 million people were diagnosed in Hong Kong and nearly 10,000 people died.
Omicron is highly contagious and cannot be prevented. The institutions have become the hardest-hit areas. Hong Kong has been “cleared” with the mainland and forced to “coexist” in just a few months. Up to now, there are about 300 new diagnoses every day. The epidemic prevention restrictions are gradually relaxed. , but experts predict that there may be a new wave.
"Hong Kong 01" has several episodes in a row to trace the source of the outbreak, examine why the policy fails, bring down the medical system, and cause a large-scale outbreak in the hospital, and explore how to restore daily life.
On January 21, a number of buildings in Kwai Chung Village were sealed off for forced inspection, and they were banned for a maximum of seven days.
(File photo / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Omicron's entry into Hong Kong involved multiple groups, including Cathay Pacific Airways violating quarantine regulations and dine in restaurants. At the same time, there was also the spread of the Delta variant virus. The authorities wanted to kill hamsters.
However, the real source of the outbreak in the community was a Pakistani woman who returned to Hong Kong via Dubai and stayed at the Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei. It was suspected that during the quarantine period, the hotel was infected by a guest in the opposite room due to insufficient ventilation in the hotel.
The husband of the Pakistani woman went to Kwai Chung Village to pick up waste and brought the virus into the community. It was the 26th day after their arrival in Hong Kong when they were diagnosed.
On January 16, 2022, government expert advisor and professor of HKU Yuan Guoyong inspected the Silka Seaview Hotel, Yau Ma Tei, to track down the loopholes of Omicron's introduction into the community.
(File photo/Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
"Omicron's invasion of the local community was caused by the crew members. At that time, there was the case of the restaurant "Wangyuelou" and the case of the "Dancing Group". We have successfully cut off the transmission of these two chains of transmission." 2022 On January 27, 2008, when the epidemic in Hong Kong was heating up, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor explained the source of the outbreak in the community when she met reporters in the evening.
The daughter of the Pakistani couple said that she had been treated unkindly by the neighbors.
(Photo by Hong Kong 01 reporter)
'Source of outbreak' quarantined hotel loophole
The reporter of "Hong Kong 01" found this Pakistani family. The couple's daughter admitted that she had been treated unkindly by the neighbors. "Some people accused us. After some people finished talking about us, they went to take another lift. When we came back, many people We don't even need our lifts."
She said that all the family members who lived with her had been infected with the virus, and others were reluctant to talk about it, emphasizing that her father no longer went to Kwai Chung Village.
Ms. Ho (pseudonym), who lives in Kwai Chung Village, said that at that time, the continuous extension of the ban would make everyone angry, and they would also be afraid when they came down for testing every day, for fear of taking off their masks for sampling.
(Photo by Liang Zurao)
Residents of Kwai Chung Village: Fear of falling down for testing every day
In the early days of the epidemic, Kwai Chung Village was the "hardest-hit area". The government sealed off on a large scale. The longest one was closed for seven days.
Resident Ms. He (pseudonym) said: "Everyone is angry that the lockdown continues to be extended. Although the government has provided supplies, everyone has to go to work. It feels like there is no time limit, and I don't know when the lockdown will last. I also feel scared when I drop off the building every day for testing. I was afraid of taking off the mask for sampling. In retrospect, the most unhappy thing was the enclosure. I listened to the news all day, and every day I hoped that the number of cases would decrease.”
At the beginning of February, about 60 new buildings were added to the list of mandatory inspections every day, and some of them had to be inspected three times.
There are long queues at various testing stations in Hong Kong, and some people have to queue for six or seven hours.
The picture shows the crowd at the Hangkou Inspection Station on February 9.
(File photo/Photo by Li Zetong)
Slowly admitting that the citizens of the quick test line up for testing, shoveling bottles
The encirclement of Kwai Chung Village failed to stop the spread, and the virus has spread in the community. The authorities continued to use the strategy of mandatory testing at the beginning. There were more and more buildings for mandatory inspection, and citizens stood in line for six or seven hours in the sun and rain.
On February 22, 2022, the reporter started at 4:00 in the morning, and directly hit the citizens of Diaojingling Station to line up to take the deep throat saliva test bottle.
At 5:50, the MTR opened the gates, and citizens began to collect test bottles.
(File photo/Photo by Lao Xianliang)
Since February 11, the number of buildings for mandatory inspection has been reduced, but the number of tests is seriously insufficient. Some people have waited for ten days without results. The authorities have not recognized the rapid testing. Citizens have to queue up in the early morning when it is cold and rainy to take deep throat saliva "bottles". .
When the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out, there was a rush to buy rapid testing reagents.
(File photo / Photo by Luo Junhao)
The government did not acknowledge the results of the rapid test until February 26, but the reporting system would not be launched until March 7. At this time, the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong in a single day had exceeded 30,000, and the highest one day was March 2. Together with the additional figures, there were nearly 80,000 new diagnoses that day.
Xu Shuchang, an expert adviser to the government and a chair professor of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at CUHK, pointed out that one of the loopholes in this round of the epidemic was that social distancing measures were not immediately tightened when the immediate reproduction rate soared.
(Photo by O Jiale)
Immediate reproduction rate reached 6 in January without social distancing
Xu Shuchang, an expert advisor to the government and chair professor of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at CUHK, said: "There are loopholes in the crew, and there are loopholes in the hotel quarantine. The third loophole is that the Rlog (instant reproduction rate) reached 6 in January, but social distancing was not enforced at that time. The measures, I think, are all contempt. When your Rlog goes to 6, the Lunar New Year may be stricter, and flower markets and temples should not be opened. At that time, you knew that the epidemic situation would rise rapidly.”
The real-time reproduction rate of the new coronavirus in Hong Kong.
(School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong)
The characteristic of Omicron is that it spreads quickly, and most of the symptoms are mild. The government once called on the public to go to the A&E department if they tested positive for a quick test. A few days later, they called on the public not to go to the A&E department. The information confusion caused the public to panic, and the medical system was instantly collapsed. An episode of A&E nurses explain the tragic situation in the hospital.
In mid-February, the emergency room of a public hospital was full, and a large number of citizens had to wait outdoors for treatment. Some people waited overnight.
The picture shows the situation outside Caritas Hospital on February 15.
(File photo/Photo by Li Zetong)
Review of the fifth wave of the epidemic・1｜Tracking down the source of the outbreak, why Hong Kong is unprepared